After our successful Santuary Art Exhibition last year, we are pleased to announce that Boaz is partnering with No Nonsense Theatre Company for Refugee Week 2010.  No Nonsense have been working with some of the women cared for by the Boaz Trust to produce an art exhibition which will run alongside their performances of Ruth.  Ruth is a fantastic production of the biblical story using mime, puppetry and dance.  It is of course the story from which the Boaz Trust gets its name – Boaz was a guy who treated Ruth, a foreigner, with love and respect.
 
The exhibition, entitled ‘Different Pasts – Shared Futures’, will be displayed inside Manchester Cathedral from 14th to 27th June, opening times Mon-Fri 8.30am-7pm, Sat 8.30am-5pm, Sun 8.30am-7.30pm.
 
Performances of Ruth on will take place on Thursday 17th June 11.30am, Friday 18th June 11.30am and 7pm, and Saturday 19th June 7pm.   The performance on the evening of 19th June will be a Gala Night with a chance to sample some Ethiopian cuisine and to meet the women involved in the exhibition.  Tickets are available from the Cathedral box office on 0161 833 2220.  For further information regarding the performance please call 07753 586 584.

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Recently we have been doing a bit of number crunching to generate some stats for our annual report, and the results have been encouraging. 
 
From April 2009 to March 2010 we had 230 referrals, with most of the asylum seekers coming from Afghanistan, DR Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq,  Sudan and Zimbabwe.  43% of those referred were street homeless, and 27% were sofa-surfing between friends who would take pity on them.
 
The Boaz Trust was able to provide safe longer term accommodation in our houses to 56 people.  We also offered shorter term placements with local host families to a further 40 people.  Plus 59 men benefited from our winter night shelter.
 
We gave out 971 food parcels to our residents, and refunded 1338 bus fares, allowing our clients to access healthcare and solicitors and to attend our English and sewing classes.  19 residents from our houses and hosts were able to get Home Office support again as they moved on with their cases, and 10 current and former clients received leave to remain in the UK!
 
Thank you for all your support which enables us to make a real difference in the lives of destitute asylum seekers.  This afternoon I asked Yezna, one of our hosted* clients, what Boaz has done for her and this is what she said:
 
“Boaz has helped me a lot.  They have given me a home with a family and English classes and I am really happy.  They helped me with everything.” 
 
 *We would love to offer this opportunity to more asylum seekers like Yezna but our space is limited.  If you are in Greater Manchester and could offer a spare room to a destitute asylum seeker for a few days, weeks or months please do get in touch on 0161 202 1056 or office@boaztrust.org.uk to find out more.

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”Help! There’s an asylum seeker in my church”

A day conference exploring how you and your church can support asylum seekers and refugees in your community.

Saturday 26th June, 10am-4pm, Brunswick Parish Church, Manchester

This  day conference will draw upon a range of experience to explore different ways of engaging with and supporting refugees and asylum seekers across the North West.  Organised in conjunction with  refugee  communities the event  will increase  your understanding of  the experiences  faced  by  asylum  seekers in  your  area  and  help inform,  equip and inspire you with  practical  ways to  get  involved.  This conference is organised by the Boaz Trust, EQUIP, CAP and SPEAK.  The flyer and booking form are available to download here:

Help! Conference Flyer

Help! Conference Booking Form

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